Gatwick Airport shut as snow brings Britain to standstill

Gatwick Airport was closed by officials on Wednesday, as the big freeze tightened its grip on the nation. Motorists and rail passengers also experienced severe disruption.

Plane are not flying out of Gatwick and Edinburgh airports

Temperatures went as low as nearly minus 20C in the Scottish Highlands overnight – minus 19.8C was recorded in Altnaharra – and thousands of children were expected to stay at home again due to closures of schools.

About six inches (15cm) of snow is expected on higher ground, with strong 30mph north-easterly winds making the temperatures feel as low as minus 7C in parts of Britain.

Weather forecasters warned that the onslaught of Arctic weather will not show signs of letting up until Friday.

David Price , a forecaster with the Met office, said: ‘It will remain bitterly cold today with the strong north-easterly winds continuing to bring snow showers and making temperatures feel as low as minus six or seven degrees.

‘There will be fresh snowfall across the majority of the country, with the only areas really escaping being the Midlands, the far south west of England and the west and north-west of Scotland.’

Mr Price predicted that an average of between 0.8in (2cm) and 2in (5cm) of snow will fall across the UK today, with 4in (10cm) to 6in (15cm) falling in higher areas. Temperatures are also expected to struggle to get past freezing, with maximums of just 2C.

He said the snowy conditions will continue throughout tomorrow, adding to the existing levels that have accumulated over the past week.

‘On Friday we should expect a reprieve from the showers. However, it will remain extremely cold and the snow will be back over the weekend,’ added the weather expert.

Severe weather warnings were in place for the whole of Scotland today, with widespread icy roads and heavy snow expected in central and south westerly areas.

Warnings were also in place for northern England, the south coast and parts of Wales..